Drop of the day
Alastair Cook had only made 28 when he edged a delivery from Shahid Afridi. It should have been a routine catch for the wicketkeeper but instead the ball bounced straight into and then straight out of the iron gloves of Umar Akmal. It was a reminder that, for all his ability as a batsman, Akmal is, at present, some way short of the required standard for an international keeper. Cook went on to score another 74 runs and play the match-defining innings. Pakistan must decide whether to persevere with Akmal in the hope of improvement or rethink the balance of their side. At present, Umar is losing them more games with the gloves than he is winning with the bat.

Run-out of the day
Imran Farhat was batting well. He had just thumped James Anderson over mid-on and, as Pakistan reached 92 for one in the 22nd over, he seemed to be pacing the reply nicely. But then, having edged a Stuart Broad yorker on to his pads, he lost track of the ball and, belatedly realising that it had rolled obligingly into the hands of the bowler, was unable to regain his ground before Broad's throw hit the stumps. It was an alert piece of work by Broad but a somewhat sloppy end to a decent innings from Farhat.

Cool head of the day
Sometimes it takes confidence to remain scoreless. It takes composure to battle through the barren periods without allowing the pressure to build or force a batsman into a rash stroke. Alastair Cook did not score from his first nine deliveries and, in the first three overs of the England innings, there were only two scoring strokes. The powerplay overs were ticking by but Cook is not the type to allow himself to be flustered. He is batting with immense assurance and backed himself to come through a testing period. As it was, he scored from his tenth delivery and it happened to be a high-class shot: a back foot drive through extra cover off Aizaz Cheema that skimmed to the boundary. Cook never looked back and became the first England captain to register successive ODI centuries.

Choice of the day
Misbah-ul-Haq preferring Aizaz Cheema to Umar Gul in the final overs of the England innings. It was a brave decision. Cheema had delivered three wides in succession in his first over, one of which went to the boundary. Gul is the senior seamer, having played 93 more ODIs than his junior partner but the choice paid off with Cheema conceding 18 in a three-over spell that ended the innings. Bearing in mind that England had seven wickets in hand with six overs to go, that represented a decent return from Cheema.

Catch of the day
The game was in the balance, 72 were required from 68 balls and Umar Akmal and Misbah-ul-Haq had looked fairly comfortable in adding 37 in six overs. Then Akmal cut Steve Finn to cover where Samit Patel dived low to his left and clung on to a low catch. Indeed, so low was it that the third umpire was called to clarify the legitimacy of the catch. Patel could be forgiven for feeling particularly satisfied: he had spent some time the previous day defending his weight, his fitness, his diet and his fielding to a group of journalists. Here he proved his point in the most eloquent way of all - with his performance.

i think PAK team just needs to change the batting order...thats it...if its done than im pretty sure they will prove to be one of the greatest batting sides ever....

POSTED BY
on | February 18, 2012, 7:29 GMT

Move afridi in the batting order to no 3 with the strategy to play till the end and every individual batsman should at least score singles if the boundries are not coming.

POSTED BY
Hassan.Farooqi
on | February 17, 2012, 13:01 GMT

@Gkgujpa: Afridi took a crippled team that had fallen on its face and everyone was kicking. Waqar Younis and Inzimamul Haq had taken star studded teams to world cup and failing to go beyond initial round. Whereas Afridi took a crippled team all the way to semi-final. His team defeated Australia first time in WC after 12 years. Whereas Misbah took a team that was on its way to recovery, and faced "morale boosting oppostion" like Ireland, Zimbabwe, and Bangladesh etc. Let us face a fact, players from Karachi would always be under rated. One bad performance, and they will sitting out like Fawad Alam and Asad Shafiq.

POSTED BY
drdani
on | February 17, 2012, 11:52 GMT

i cant understand why some of us r criticizing misbah on his 'way of batting'..he has always been like this..n m sure he will never change..he has a certain gameplan (which some of us dont like) n he follows it in order to give us a win,whether it comes or not...similarly criticizing afridi is also not understandable,especially from pakistani supporters..my question is when did u see a cool head on his shoulders? hes been like this since 'birth' n m a great supporter of afridi coz of this...i like the looks on other team's captains when afridi comes in to bat..the horror on their faces pleases most of the pakistani even pakistan r loosing.....it is simple..pakistan have been beaten by a team who played well on those 2 days..n more simple is the fact that part-time wicketkeeper wont give u a win rather than a specialist..umar akmal is a mach winner n he should play but not as a wicketkeeper!!

POSTED BY
Sports4Youth
on | February 17, 2012, 8:56 GMT

Misbah is doing the same mistake with Umar Akmal what othr captains have done with Kamran Akmal and Moin Khan. YouTube is full of Kamran Akmal's infamous performance against Australia, NZ, SL etc. and how Pak lost the Matches because of bad wicket keeping. Misbah has already proved that he is the most horrible ODI captain. Actually he repeated the same mistake in the SL and Bangladesh series but because there the opposition was not so good, so he was not exposed. Not this time though. This time the stonger opposition is making him pay for his mistake.

POSTED BY
Desihungama
on | February 17, 2012, 5:21 GMT

I don't believe am saying it but Imran Farhat is the only one playing well. How did we get here? Strange.

POSTED BY
codegreen
on | February 17, 2012, 3:23 GMT

@imranmujtaba look at the record of afridi as a captain in t20 , losing more than 60% of all , he was the reason we were 7th on the table

POSTED BY
on | February 16, 2012, 23:50 GMT

Pakistan let it go because of their sloppy and irresponsible batting. 72 runs were needed with 68 balls to go. The way Afridi played was that he was not interested to stay on the creasefor one more minute , a six and a four and then middle stump with bails flying , cleaned bowled by a straight ball. Bowlers were unable to dismiss Cook after he scored two succesive centuries. Umar Akmal did not do justice when he was needed to chase an easy score, he was sloppy and fumbled as a wicket keeper. Our tail enders have disappointed time and again, they should learn how to stay on the wicket to complete 50 overs. Routed in 35 overs (first ODI) shows lack of temperament. NOT the first time !!!!!!. Hope we bat first this time .

POSTED BY
imranmujtaba
on | February 16, 2012, 21:57 GMT

Pakistan will win net two gAmes if they get rid of MISBAH or bowl second or umar and afridi comes before tuk tuk misbah...... batting order
1- Mohammad Hafeez 2- Malik/Farhat 3- Umar Akmal 4- Asad Shafiq 5- Younis Khan 6- Shahid Afridi 7- Hammad Azam 8- Adnan Akmal 9- Saeed Ajmal 10- Umar Gul 11- Wahab / Cheema
Ooops I missed the Captain - i dont think he deserved to be in the team.... to make his place we may have to sacrifce no.2 or 8 position...... I hope he can learn something from great captains DHONI, Clarke, Imran Khan, Javed Miadad ........ AFIRDI was FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaarrr better CAptain in ODI and T20..............................

POSTED BY
mansoorJ
on | February 16, 2012, 19:10 GMT

Some saying itz the same team who won test serries ( whitewash), If they lost 2 ODI then we shdnt shout at them etc etc etc ......well i guess we are not sorrow for loosing, actually we are disturbed the way pakistani team is playing in the ODI seems they dnt hve sharp tooth to bite deep in the flesh like a hunter...Seems they dnt have fire in the eyes to fight till end...seems Mishab dnt have The strategy at all... Misbah dnt dare to take risks even he dnt dare to change the batting orderlines. CRICKET is name of THRILL, changing of strategy by over to over...MISBAH goes for the last 10 overs to raise the run rate which is totally absord coz in pakistani team these overs faces mostly tailender who even dnt bring 3 - 4 runs on the board ..in other ways last 10 overs are lost for nothing or if this the strategy shd be followed then some gud batsmen come on number 9, 10, 11.What we want to comment here is that SKIPPER shd work hard on strategy over by over ( LIKE CHESS PLAYER )

POSTED BY
ms.pk_93
on | February 18, 2012, 14:57 GMT

i think PAK team just needs to change the batting order...thats it...if its done than im pretty sure they will prove to be one of the greatest batting sides ever....

POSTED BY
on | February 18, 2012, 7:29 GMT

Move afridi in the batting order to no 3 with the strategy to play till the end and every individual batsman should at least score singles if the boundries are not coming.

POSTED BY
Hassan.Farooqi
on | February 17, 2012, 13:01 GMT

@Gkgujpa: Afridi took a crippled team that had fallen on its face and everyone was kicking. Waqar Younis and Inzimamul Haq had taken star studded teams to world cup and failing to go beyond initial round. Whereas Afridi took a crippled team all the way to semi-final. His team defeated Australia first time in WC after 12 years. Whereas Misbah took a team that was on its way to recovery, and faced "morale boosting oppostion" like Ireland, Zimbabwe, and Bangladesh etc. Let us face a fact, players from Karachi would always be under rated. One bad performance, and they will sitting out like Fawad Alam and Asad Shafiq.

POSTED BY
drdani
on | February 17, 2012, 11:52 GMT

i cant understand why some of us r criticizing misbah on his 'way of batting'..he has always been like this..n m sure he will never change..he has a certain gameplan (which some of us dont like) n he follows it in order to give us a win,whether it comes or not...similarly criticizing afridi is also not understandable,especially from pakistani supporters..my question is when did u see a cool head on his shoulders? hes been like this since 'birth' n m a great supporter of afridi coz of this...i like the looks on other team's captains when afridi comes in to bat..the horror on their faces pleases most of the pakistani even pakistan r loosing.....it is simple..pakistan have been beaten by a team who played well on those 2 days..n more simple is the fact that part-time wicketkeeper wont give u a win rather than a specialist..umar akmal is a mach winner n he should play but not as a wicketkeeper!!

POSTED BY
Sports4Youth
on | February 17, 2012, 8:56 GMT

Misbah is doing the same mistake with Umar Akmal what othr captains have done with Kamran Akmal and Moin Khan. YouTube is full of Kamran Akmal's infamous performance against Australia, NZ, SL etc. and how Pak lost the Matches because of bad wicket keeping. Misbah has already proved that he is the most horrible ODI captain. Actually he repeated the same mistake in the SL and Bangladesh series but because there the opposition was not so good, so he was not exposed. Not this time though. This time the stonger opposition is making him pay for his mistake.

POSTED BY
Desihungama
on | February 17, 2012, 5:21 GMT

I don't believe am saying it but Imran Farhat is the only one playing well. How did we get here? Strange.

POSTED BY
codegreen
on | February 17, 2012, 3:23 GMT

@imranmujtaba look at the record of afridi as a captain in t20 , losing more than 60% of all , he was the reason we were 7th on the table

POSTED BY
on | February 16, 2012, 23:50 GMT

Pakistan let it go because of their sloppy and irresponsible batting. 72 runs were needed with 68 balls to go. The way Afridi played was that he was not interested to stay on the creasefor one more minute , a six and a four and then middle stump with bails flying , cleaned bowled by a straight ball. Bowlers were unable to dismiss Cook after he scored two succesive centuries. Umar Akmal did not do justice when he was needed to chase an easy score, he was sloppy and fumbled as a wicket keeper. Our tail enders have disappointed time and again, they should learn how to stay on the wicket to complete 50 overs. Routed in 35 overs (first ODI) shows lack of temperament. NOT the first time !!!!!!. Hope we bat first this time .

POSTED BY
imranmujtaba
on | February 16, 2012, 21:57 GMT

Pakistan will win net two gAmes if they get rid of MISBAH or bowl second or umar and afridi comes before tuk tuk misbah...... batting order
1- Mohammad Hafeez 2- Malik/Farhat 3- Umar Akmal 4- Asad Shafiq 5- Younis Khan 6- Shahid Afridi 7- Hammad Azam 8- Adnan Akmal 9- Saeed Ajmal 10- Umar Gul 11- Wahab / Cheema
Ooops I missed the Captain - i dont think he deserved to be in the team.... to make his place we may have to sacrifce no.2 or 8 position...... I hope he can learn something from great captains DHONI, Clarke, Imran Khan, Javed Miadad ........ AFIRDI was FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaarrr better CAptain in ODI and T20..............................

POSTED BY
mansoorJ
on | February 16, 2012, 19:10 GMT

Some saying itz the same team who won test serries ( whitewash), If they lost 2 ODI then we shdnt shout at them etc etc etc ......well i guess we are not sorrow for loosing, actually we are disturbed the way pakistani team is playing in the ODI seems they dnt hve sharp tooth to bite deep in the flesh like a hunter...Seems they dnt have fire in the eyes to fight till end...seems Mishab dnt have The strategy at all... Misbah dnt dare to take risks even he dnt dare to change the batting orderlines. CRICKET is name of THRILL, changing of strategy by over to over...MISBAH goes for the last 10 overs to raise the run rate which is totally absord coz in pakistani team these overs faces mostly tailender who even dnt bring 3 - 4 runs on the board ..in other ways last 10 overs are lost for nothing or if this the strategy shd be followed then some gud batsmen come on number 9, 10, 11.What we want to comment here is that SKIPPER shd work hard on strategy over by over ( LIKE CHESS PLAYER )

I read a lot of comments every one write the comments as per his own paradigm & My View is a little bit different then other here This is really not fair that Pakistan lost two matches after white washing England in the series despite playing at similar conditions.

The main cause of losing matches is "The strategy" of Misbah-ul-Huq Why he chase the scores like this that if the required run rate is 5.0 then play with 3.0 till 10 overs and then increase it 4.0 till then 35 overs then make the required run rate over 7 per over I don't under stand the philosophy of Mr Misbah.

The Idea of saving wickets till then 40 overs and hard hitting in last 10 overs was by Mr Javaid Mian Dad as I heard some one in 1992 but that was not for chasing only for playing first innings and still 70% ~ 80% teams got the result as well but please for chasing u have to score singles.
It is also ashamed for any senior batsman like Misbah that if he is standing on the crease & required run rate move up.

POSTED BY
CRICALLi
on | February 16, 2012, 15:18 GMT

Pakistan must come to terms with the reality that their overall batting is below that of the the top five teams in the world. Their bowling however is the best spin attack & one of the best overall bowling attack in the world. India , Australia or South Africa would have easily reached 250. Apart from the first test when England was spooked by Ajmal's mystery delivery, England did not lose by much although they continued to under perform. Despite these loses i still think Misbah is one of the best captains in worild cricket. No one is perfect. They can still bounce back to win the last 2 matches & all 20/20 with a few changes. When Anwar/Sohail opened batting they scored so quickly that they reduced the asking rate the midlle/lower order was required to make-reducing the pressure & allowing them to play less risky shots. Cook did this for England at a strike rate of about 90 in both matches. Afridi is the only Pak batsman with a higher rate.let him open even if he scores the same

POSTED BY
on | February 16, 2012, 14:39 GMT

Pakistani team selection and tactic cost them match. STarting with part timer keeper who in first match missed boopara stumping chance who than made 51 runs and had a important patnership with cook.

Than in last match mised 1 chanc of cook on 28 and morgan who had 50 runs important patnership. Its not his fault since he isnt keeper but batsmenn.

Also when 2 new balls has been used now and Pakistan dont have good fast bowlers ? And Misbah give to many single doubles.

Stop playing with parttimer , correct selection , more feilder in circle and play attacking cricket. Otherwise same resualt in next match

POSTED BY
Amircha
on | February 16, 2012, 13:42 GMT

Pakistan been playing good, just dont loose hope in these guys after 2 loses.Its part of the game, but for sure SELECTION of the players been very very poor by PCB.
Reasons;
1-Umar Gul played 100000 games no REST.
2-Younis Khan senior player does good in one game and other 10 games nothing.
3-Misbah needs to know before the game that he is playing one day or TEST.
4-Imran Farhat 47 in one game good for next 20 games.
5-Shaid bhai need to watch the COOL COOL AFRIDI commercial before the game.
PCB what should DO.
1-Bring Imran Nazir back(deserves a chance)
2-Hama Azam(why would you bring the guy along when you not going to give him a chance to play)?
3-Select players based on their statistics not their status.
for now

POSTED BY
on | February 16, 2012, 13:23 GMT

Umar Akmal is good batsman but not world class yet.One of the weakness is he did not sray on the wicket. He does not play as per situation of match.A great player adjust his game according to condition of wicket,weather and situation of the match.reasons of defeat in both ODI are the failure of batsmen specialy Hafiz,younus,Akmal and Afridi also poor fielding.We can not win the match without the contribution of players selected specially as batsman.

POSTED BY
MrBrightside92
on | February 16, 2012, 13:19 GMT

Typical English media response from Front foot there...we're either rubbish or brilliant...neither which is true. I disagree with Akmal, Afridi up the order against ENG...new ball bowling has been excellent..you don't want your best batsmen getting out to England's best chance of getting wickets. You need Rehman to open...he played and missed brilliantly...maybe a few maidens but he's see off the new balls and the new ball bowlers...then accelerate in the middle overs. Although Akmal's talent is beyond question it's his temperment..he'd just hit Finn for 4...tried another got caught. Seen him hit 2/3 boundaries in a row...you can see he wants to hit another one...just to rub it in...then of course he gets out...one of my fav Pak innings was against Oz in the T20 semi final....absolute quality! Would like to see Eng chase...

POSTED BY
Sports4Youth
on | February 16, 2012, 13:08 GMT

Ian Chappel was right. If Kamran's batting was as good as Don Bradman, still he would not have covered the loss he incurred behind the stumps.

POSTED BY
A_S_M
on | February 16, 2012, 12:53 GMT

I think Pakistan need to go back once more to the winning combination of the tests against England. Adnan Akmal (for Umar Akmal) and Asad Shafiq (for Shahid Afridi) in their temperament seem to tie in better with their Captain Misbah's cool headed temperament. Both Adnan and Asad have shown that they can bat well-composed winning knocks and Adnan can also keep wickets better. Once calm prevails in the team, a win is easier to follow. A winning test combination can also win in any other format - whether ODIs or T20s.

POSTED BY
Sports4Youth
on | February 16, 2012, 12:51 GMT

I COULDN'T AGREE MORE. But Traditionally Pak have always made this mistake. Even when Rashid Latif was their best glove-man they chose to go with Moin Khan who was their worst keeper till date. The Argument of the selectors was that Mohsin was a better Bat. But Pak paid a heavy price for his keeping. Same mistake was later repeated with Kamran Akmal. Inspite of his purposefull run-out miss of Watson in Australia, he was still included in the team for his batting and he made sure that Pak did not win the WC. Now yet again instead of selecting professional wicket keepers they want to go with part-timers. What message is going to the WicketKeepers at the domestic level ? That they are not required at the highest level ? Wicket keepers like Wasim Bari, Kirmani etc are no more requied? Misbah & co do not seem to take note of the dropped catches, Missed stumpings & runs being given away behind the stumps. Can he make good the loss he caused with the gloves ?

POSTED BY
pontingkhan
on | February 16, 2012, 12:29 GMT

All akmals, shoaib malik and Imran farhat should be thrown out. failed time and time again. Azhar and Junaid should have a permanent spot. time for young blood

POSTED BY
Hassan.Farooqi
on | February 16, 2012, 12:28 GMT

Anyone who remembers specialist wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal's keeping in World Cup 2011 (especially vs NZ), would say Umar's keeping was not bad for an Akmal. lol.

POSTED BY
rajwanii
on | February 16, 2012, 12:20 GMT

WELL....MANY PROBLEMS FOR PAKISTAN IN ODIS...FIRSTLY,JUST GET RID OF IMRAN FARHAT AND SHOAIB MALIK....DESE TWO HAVE BEEN QUITE CLEARLY ACCOMODATED IN THE TEAM...THEN BRING IN NASIR JAMSHED AS OPENER WITH HAFEEZ IN ODIS AND T20S.....BRING HAMMAD AZAM IN...BRING ADNAN AKMAL IN....AND BAT UMAR AKMAL AT NO.3.
CHANGE THE APPROACH....IN TODAYS CRICKET YOU CAN NOT DEPEND TOO MUCH ON LATE HITTING...AFRIDI IS A SLOGGER AFTERAWL...ATTACK FROM THE WORD GO AND BAT POSITIVELY...

POSTED BY
on | February 16, 2012, 11:46 GMT

we need some one in top order who can rotate the strike and hit the ball hard when its required and best choice is ahmed shehzad the 20 years opener from Lahore having 2 international 100s,
we need umer akmal to come at number 4 cz we hav a good number 3 azhar ali
and then asad at 5 hamad azam 6 and shahid 7 then a specialist wicket keeper then bowlers i like to go wid ajmal gul and sami

POSTED BY
AnotherCricketer
on | February 16, 2012, 11:43 GMT

Pakistan has to score more runs. With the match-fixing saga behind us, Umar Akmal should get another chance. He is class act in batting and a keeper by training. Umar Akmal should be pushed up the order. Bring Hammad Azam in. He did well in West Indies and yet still didn't get the chance to continue to prove himself.

POSTED BY
rahulcricket007
on | February 16, 2012, 11:39 GMT

@FRONT FOOT LONGUE . WAIT A MINUTE . DIDN'T YOU SAID AFTER LOSING ODIS AGAINST INDIA BY 5-0 THAT ODIS DIDN'T MATTER MUCH TO ENGLISH FANS , WE ONLY CARES ABOUT TESTS . ALSO IN LAST TWO YEARS WHICH YOU R MENTIONING ENGLAND HAS NOT DONE ANYTHING SPECIAL IN ODIS . IN LAST TWO YEARS YOU LOST TWICE 6-1 TO AUS , LOSE BY BAN & IRELAND IN WC , DEFEAT INDIA AT 3-0 AT HOME & THEN GET DEFEATED BY 5-0 IN INDIA , WON HOME SERIES AGAINST SL BY A CLOSE 3-2 MARGIN .

POSTED BY
AS-PRINCE
on | February 16, 2012, 11:38 GMT

Pakistan must playing Hammad Azam Replacing Abdul Rehman In 3rd ODI

POSTED BY
PAKIZINDABAD
on | February 16, 2012, 11:24 GMT

Pakistan need to look at the youngsters as these old timers have had their day. Now is the time to bring the youth through and build for the forthcoming world cup.
Afridi should be made captain for the ODI and misbah needs to retire from the 50/50 game.
Imran Farhat is just a "Parchi" as his father in-law is on the selection committee.
Umar Akmal clearly has other agenda's on his hand IE match fixing just like the rest of his family and should be discarded from the squad completely, irrespective of his batting. Sweep away the filth once and for all and also he is the most selfish player amongst the squad who only ever thinks about himself, with stupid reviews etc.

POSTED BY
AS-PRINCE
on | February 16, 2012, 11:08 GMT

it s necessary for pakistan to change Aizaz Cheema with Wahab Riaz And Abdul Rehman with Young Allrounder Hammad Azam in 3rd ODI

POSTED BY
on | February 16, 2012, 11:00 GMT

Well, Abdul razzaq has to be given another chance here & Adnan akmal has to be included in the team as a specialist Keeper.

POSTED BY
on | February 16, 2012, 10:35 GMT

Umar Akmal is the most talented batsman in the world. Umar Akmal should open the innings for Pakistan. You cannot have three players like Misbah, Younis and Azhar Ali together in a one day team. One dayers are different from tests. Only one or two depending on different condition should be selected from three of Misbah, Younis and Azhar Ali. Umar Akmal should be the permanent member of the Pakistan team across all formats of the game. And, why is Umar Akmal being asked to keep wickets. Umar Akmal will earn a place in any International side just for his batting skills. Pakistan is wasting a huge talent in Umar Akmal. He can bat higher the order like Gilchrist, Sehwag, Saeed Anwar and Jaysurya to name a few. Why did Misbah did not play him in the tests against Bangladesh after man of the series performance from Umar Akmal in the preceding one day series against Sri Lanka. Is Misbah trying to prolong his own career and younis' by not playing Umar Akmal?

POSTED BY
on | February 16, 2012, 10:16 GMT

Kamran Akmal is Pakistan best wicket keeper batsman ever in the one day internation, T/20 and in the Test as well. he wins various game for pakistan. he keeps the balance in the team. other wicket keeper only can keep but kamran akmal can bat also as well as his keeping. we have to give him confidence. We have to choose him for ASIA cup which starts from 12th March, 2012 in bangladesh. The other thing is that pakistan should choose the bowler who can bat not like Abdur Rehman, Aizaz Cheema. We have to Choose likes of Hammad Azam Who can bat, bowl and do the good fielding

POSTED BY
on | February 16, 2012, 10:01 GMT

that bloke Rahman; he arrives at 6 down; after facing 12 balls he touches one ball and scores one run and another ball he gets himself out. He should be banished. Even I could have played better in a 50 over match. Ridiculous.

POSTED BY
BHATASHFAQ
on | February 16, 2012, 9:48 GMT

Change the batting order according to situation.
Technically Good Wicketkeeper.
Y. Khan & Misbah not to come together to bat,
in between them may be Umer Akmal or Afridi.
Bowling changes are not good.
At last change of captain no doubt Misbah is good player.
Always waiting for something to happen.
Strike rotating policy in batting is must in one days.
Hope they will win the next match.

POSTED BY
on | February 16, 2012, 9:20 GMT

Pakistan really need to change the batting order. Umar Akmal should come at one down.Afridi is good hitter , he should be considered as opener as he should play the most power play overs. Even he can be out earlier but still we will have good batting line up. In present situation , when our fifth order batsman got out , psychologically we thought we have lost but in my proposed batting order this will be other way around.

POSTED BY
on | February 16, 2012, 9:16 GMT

Umar Akmal should bat higher in the order. Of course, Umar Akmal should open and if Umar Akmal opens, he can play like Adam Gilchrist, Sehwag, Saeed Anwar, and Chris Gayle to name a few. Pakistan cricket board and Pakistan team management is wasting a talent like Umar Akmal. I do not know why Misbah did not play him in the test series against Bangladesh and then against England after a good show by Umar in the preceding one day series. Is it because Misbah wants to prolong his own career.

Misbah is a fantastic T20 and test batsmen, but he is a misfit in one day games where you have to score quickly as well as rotate the strike. T20 is more about hitting big shots and not so much about keeping your wicket intact. Whereas test cricket is about saving your wicket, but you are not required to rotate the strike as frequently as one day cricket. If Misbah is there is one day team, I do not see a place for younis khan or Azhar Ali. Umar Akmal should be play as specialist batman.

POSTED BY
Front-Foot-Lunge
on | February 16, 2012, 9:15 GMT

Despite a rusty, hapless attempt at playing across straight balls in the test series, England are just another level of cricket compared to Pakistan: as they showed without a shadow of doubt against Australia and India etc. They've started slowly since they're break away from the game, but they're starting to play how they have done the last two years.

POSTED BY
khurramsch
on | February 16, 2012, 9:06 GMT

poor display from pakistan & totally agree that balance is not right. experiment of umar as keeper is gone realy worse. 1st odi missed bopara he scored 49 more. this time cook scored 74 more. in batting they were pretty much in but i would say poor shots by umar & afridi. specialy afridi no need for that there only 44 needed of 36 balls.pakistan i think badly need a medium pace allrounder otherwise this tail is too long & simply cant do anything rehman wasted 2 overs by & made it more worst.
imran farhat got a totaly brainfade there. & 1 must say that fielding is the major difference. england saved atleat 30 runs.

POSTED BY
on | February 16, 2012, 9:03 GMT

Why are you not playing a regular wicket keeper if u have one around....if u had to continue with the make shift wicket keeper than kamran is a much better choice than umer moreover younus and misbah should bat at no 3 and 4 there is no point holding them back and to me hammad azam should play in place of Abdur Rehman and Adnan for either of farhat or azhar. Its about the balance of the side not the indivicuals

POSTED BY
on | February 16, 2012, 8:55 GMT

Pakistan need to bring in Hammad Azam and drop one seamer.Hammad will provide both with the bat and ball.And Pakistan need to train bowlers to bat in crunch situations.Pity that the lower order can`t even get bat on ball.Need to work on the batting a lot.Plus bring in Adnan Akmal.Umar Akmal is having problems in his batting due to the extra burden he`s facing as keeper.Squad_Hafeez,farhar,azhar,younis,misbah,umar akmal,adnan,afridi,hammad,ajmal,Cheema.

POSTED BY
SomersetJord
on | February 16, 2012, 8:30 GMT

Faraz Piracha - Yes we were all watching the same camera replay, it's just some of us obviously have better vision than others. It wasn't one of those open finger catches - that is why it was given. It was fairly easy to see it went straight into his hand a good two inches from the ground. Difficult decision yes, but the right one.

POSTED BY
saurabhjoshi17
on | February 16, 2012, 8:21 GMT

What about the innigs of the day coming from Abdur Rehman. That sealed the match after Afridi's needless hoick.

POSTED BY
on | February 16, 2012, 8:10 GMT

ware was Pakistani team management and importantly our COACH are they sleeping.whey they are not taking the home work like England COACH did.

POSTED BY
on | February 16, 2012, 7:54 GMT

if u continue testing player like afridi,akmal,and imran farhat then pakistani oneday team will surfer from big sides .hunt new talent don't afraid to give them chance .they need to b aggressive in their approach ..change ur batting order according to the situation .but their approach towards winning a match in oneday cricket is to defensive to proactive and u can win from weaker sides playing like this but not from stronger sides .if they continue with this mindset then v can not win from top sides ...

POSTED BY
on | February 16, 2012, 7:46 GMT

Let me add to the list, Joke of the Day:
How could Billy Bowden see the ball landing fair and square into Samit Patel's hands? We all were watching the same camera view and the same tv replays that Billy was seeing, how was he sure that Samit's fingers were joint together when he took the catch and there was no suspicion of his finger being open and the ball touching the ground? How could he? Why did the benefit of the doubt didn't go in Pakistan's (batting side's) favour? That was the turning point of the game, he was taking the English bowlers for a ride espc in the PP overs. Sickening to say the least, not to mention pure bias.

POSTED BY
Younus313
on | February 16, 2012, 7:32 GMT

What do you expect from a 'back stop'? Poor Umar Akmal, he is only 21, he is still learning his game. I cannot believe that some people out there have been calling for Umar to keep wickets!!! Have we not learnt anything from Kamran's clangers? Other team have tried 'back stops' and reverted back to real keepers. Umar Akmal reminds me of Inzamam when he first hit the scene. Umar has every shot in the book but is so young. He needs to be allowed to develop his game. We are destroying him and messing him about.His brother Adnan is in the squad, he should be keeping. In the long term, we need to look at Sarfraz Ahmed or Zulqarnain Haider, good keepers who are good bats.

POSTED BY
Patchmaster
on | February 16, 2012, 7:21 GMT

Akmal is the worse keeper in international cricket.

POSTED BY
Trkhan79
on | February 16, 2012, 6:57 GMT

we want allrounder like Razzaq, as he won many game for us in this type of situation & no body thinking on this.Hammad Azam sit on bench but not in 11 why not he includes in the game, i think if Saeed is playing than give rest Abdur rehman & include Hammad Azam, drop Imran Farhat & include specialist keeper, Give chance to Azhar Ali as a opener with Hafeez,than team combination will be okay

POSTED BY
on | February 16, 2012, 6:29 GMT

Pakistan must find hard hitting wicket keeper batsmen as soon as possible.No doubt in umar akmal abilities he is a world class batsmen he needs to concentrate on his batting rather then doing part time WK.

POSTED BY
on | February 16, 2012, 6:21 GMT

IMO Umar gul have done nothing for last two matches by resting him and giving Hammad Azam a chance will provide Pakistan with an all rounder and then we need a proper keeper this decision will be a hard one and we'll have to give chance to AdnanAkmal/Sarfaraz in place of Umar Akmal .

POSTED BY
umarkhankhattak
on | February 16, 2012, 5:48 GMT

what is umar akmal doing behind the wickets...he has cost pakistan this very important match...why do the selectors didn't think about it after the first game when he dropped ravi bopara and he went on to make match winning 58. what on earth afridi was doing with jimmy anderson. it was perfectly in pakistan's favour. but they simply has no match winners...so simple. we need atleast 2 perfect match winners who can finish the game off single handedly...cricinfo please publish !!

POSTED BY
wasifhossain.cse
on | February 16, 2012, 4:35 GMT

Misbah should open the innings to keep wickets at hand from the very beginning, and after a sufficient amount of time, he can get himself out when the runs need to be paced.

POSTED BY
Rahul_78
on | February 16, 2012, 4:34 GMT

Wicket keeper is the most important man on the field after captain. Out of 300 almost each and every delivery reaches the keeper in an ODI. You can not even afford butter finger fielders in todays game and here we are talking about a keeper who drops more then he catches. Akmal has cost pak 2 matches in the row. In the first one he flunked a stumping of Bopara when Afridi looked like running through English side and yesterday he made a special favor to Cook. If Afridi and Ajmal had dismissed England cheaply in the first ODI it would have made a serious impact on the series and on the psyche of English batsmen. Seems like Pak hasnt learned any thing from their prior experience with Kamran. To err is human but to repeat the mistakes is plain stupid.

POSTED BY
Misbah_Roxx
on | February 16, 2012, 4:31 GMT

People..People..People
Everything in the team is fine.....even Imran Farhat did well, and if u raise fingers at Imran Farhat or at Umar Akmal's keeping we should think of an era when a Pakistan team successively performed without errors being commited on the field..
Even the test series was full of dropped catches.....The TRUTH is England are playing really well and Pakistani Batsmen must have to move on after getting a start....

POSTED BY
on | February 16, 2012, 4:11 GMT

I dont understand why Malik is dropped? Poor decision once again from misbah by dropping Malik and giving chance to umer akmal. Akmal brothers should not deserve any chance to be in any format of the day. What abt gul what is he doing? He has lost his pace and line and length he needs to drop out.

POSTED BY
Desihungama
on | February 16, 2012, 4:03 GMT

Abdul Rehman being bowled for consecutive deliveries summed up the day for Pakistan and then you have the Akmals curse.

POSTED BY
hamqad
on | February 16, 2012, 3:47 GMT

I think there is a problem with the balance of the one day side. Umar Akmal is being persisted with as a keeper due to the lower order void created by the absence of Razzak. Malik was drafted in by Misbah specifically to fill this hole. We are short of an all rounded, making our tale as long as the neck of a giraffe. However, Malik is clearly past his peak and so it be the worst idea to look at the future. They do realize that Razzak is not going to be there forever. Why is Hammad Azam not being given a chance? Put him in place of Cheema or Abdul Rehman. Get rid of Farhat and bring in a specialist keeper. That will restore the balance. I'd rather play a makeshift opener and than a mak shift keeper to balance the team. Open with Hafeez and Azhar Ali, Akmal at # 3 with Younis and Misbah making the middle order. Afridi, Sarfaraz and Hammad Azam form the late middle order, leaving a smaller tail of 3 specialist bowlers.

POSTED BY
badmaash
on | February 16, 2012, 3:41 GMT

Farhat did not miss the ball - he was distracted by the appeal for lbw. His dismissal was a display of poor sportsmanship spirit from Broad, but that's hardly surprising.

POSTED BY
pak94fan
on | February 16, 2012, 2:57 GMT

Pak supporters, rather than bashing our performance, give credit where it is due. England fielded brilliantly, bowled fairly well and once again, Cook was the difference. Our team definitely needs some changes, but don't blame everything on all players, it was an improved performance and we will come back well insha'Allah. Now, moving on. Please, guys, don't bother criticising Misbah. Is it his fault that we didn't win, or Umar/Afridi for playing false shots? It was the same case in the 2010 WC semi. They leave him with too much to do. Out of the current team, and based on current performances, my team would be: Azhar, Farhat, Younis, Umar, Misbah, Hafeez, Hammad, Afridi, Ajmal, Junaid, Cheema. Hafeez to come down the order because I think his technical flaws are displayed when opening. Umar to provide momentum, Hammad to provide balance, and Junaid in for Gul, because Gul has looked toothless. Would add a wk but we will have to go with Umar for now cause none of our wk's can bat well.

POSTED BY
The_big_j
on | February 16, 2012, 1:51 GMT

Pakistan needs to bring in new fast bowlers, try more bowlers from domestic cricket, umer gul needs some rest, he's a fast bowler and he's playing TOO much cricket and if he gets injured the bowling unit is very weak. Pakistan must play asad shafiq, drop rehman and farhat and send afridi to open, the openers aren't doing much anyways like this game, took 20 overs to make 60 runs.... Pakistan must groom youngsters otherwise teams like sri lanka, australia, sa and england will be a light years ahead in the next few years.

POSTED BY
rienzied
on | February 16, 2012, 1:30 GMT

Poor Umar, he is not a keeper, he is just a fielder with pads and gloves on. When he first came on , we were drawing parralels with a young J. Miandad, now he is looking drained and not the same exciting talent we thought he might turn out to be. Please Misbah, do your best to get his confidence back and he is still young enough to be your future superstar

POSTED BY
on | February 16, 2012, 1:17 GMT

England should savour their deserved victories and their writes will do well to stop the mind games and letting their opponents mind own their store. Pakistan is short of batters, and the boy Akmal is good make over behind and in front of the wicket. All keepers drop catches, he will get better and worth the price.

POSTED BY
Just_be_fair
on | February 15, 2012, 23:04 GMT

Sarfraz Ahemd must be given chance as wicket keeper batsman.Nasir Jamshad Hamad Azam and Sohail Khan also deserve chance specially in ODI. Malik and Farhat must be out, how many chances they will give them? Bring Fawad Alam back in Test side. Misbah is already 38 years old, he is too old for fast pace of limited over cricket and it is a well know fact that as batsman his strik rate is very slow or ODI and T20 and he is a very defensive captain which he has proven again in this 2nd ODI. Afridi should be the capatin for ODI and T20 team.Asad Shafiq shoud be at # 5 or # 6 as he have been performing very well on these positions, don't ruin up his game by sending him at # 3 .

We are wasting a talent like Umar Akmal by sending him on the first 4 positions, these spent forces likes Younis, Misbah, Farhat are useless for winning matches. They all score at a slow pace. There should be a fast-slow combination so that if somebody is only able to score singles than other guy accelerates.

POSTED BY
Just_be_fair
on | February 15, 2012, 22:46 GMT

WHEN THEY DO INJUSTICE TO SOME DESERVING PLAYERS THEN WHAT ELSE WILL HAPPEN?
Injustice have been done to Sarfraz Ahmed again and again. He was cosidered repalcement of Kamran 3 years back when he was given chance in Australia' tour and he preformed very well in test matches there. Then he was thrown out of team withouth any genuine reason. Since then he been ignored and Zoulqarna and Adnan have been given chances. Sarfraz was given only few chances in ODI but once again he was thrown out of the team to make place for Adnan in even ODI int his UAE ODI series. It is well know fact based on Sarfraz international and domestice performances that he is much better wicket keeper and batsman then Adnan. He keep on doing excellent in last 3 to4 yaers od domestice season both as wicket keeper and batsamn. He have made several centureis and reecently a double century too in domestice season. Even then instead of giving his place in the team he been thrown out without any genuine reason.

POSTED BY
on | February 15, 2012, 22:41 GMT

well said @imranmujtaba@ ...... agree @ Vaseem S except Misbah - Misbah is not ODI or T20 Player, he just pile the pressure on other player as @imranmujtaba@ said..... bring Malik instead atleast Malik know how to take single doubles ..... Make Hafee or Afridi (WC performance was good & aggressive) captain....

Pakistan will always struggle with this combination against any quality team. Our openers are a problem... Imran Farhat should not be in the team. We don't have a wicket keeper. We don't have an allrounder... someone like Razzaq. I know Kamran Akmal had some issues with his keeping, but he was good as an opener.... especially on these kind of wickets. And, as a keeper he had ok days and bad days.
I am not even sure what Younus Khan is doing in this team. He comes in plays 2-3 shots and gets out. His last 10 ODI inngs scores are 5, 15, 70*, 26, 37, 2, 34, 18, 42 and 0. Only one 50 and that was against Afghanistan. These scores include ODI's against Bangladesh.
And, last but not the least... what happened to all the fast bowlers that Pakistan use to produce. We have no one who can bowl more than 135-140Kph.
I know if Pakistan wins the toss in the next 2 games... results will be different. But, they need to think about the future.

POSTED BY
on | February 15, 2012, 21:24 GMT

We just cant go all out blasting the team. I think there is definitely a need for a specialist keeper. I have kept part time, and its not easy to keep and then bat, if you are not regular. The selectors should have thought it through. I think Currently we need a speedster all rounder, may be... i am not an expert, but Cheema is just an average bowler, as compare to others at the international level. Spin is always a good option Pakistan has, but you at times need pacers, like Wasim/Waqar/Aamir/Asif to win games. I am a spinner, and I know that usually spinner are not match winners. We can get some crucial wickets, quality fast bowler usually will win you games. Just my 2 cents....

POSTED BY
voyager
on | February 15, 2012, 21:24 GMT

Get regular keeper, drop Imran Farhat and send Umar as opener. Under the circumstances play Shoaib Malik (some other spinner with decent batting should have been in touring squad in the first place) inplace of Abdur Rehman and Wahab Riaz for Cheema. While we have Shoaib Malik there might as well give him the responsiblility and challenge him to prove his worth.

POSTED BY
on | February 15, 2012, 21:21 GMT

y everyone is sayin that pakistan played y not say england outplayed us in the final ten overs

POSTED BY
BowledYa
on | February 15, 2012, 21:20 GMT

You can't have 4 specialist bowlers (5 in my opinion, counting Afridi) in a ODI team. We need at least 2 more all rounders and/or replace one with a specialist wicket keeper who can bat. In the current team after 5 down we have no batsmen, and you can't win a lot of matches that way.

POSTED BY
Riz81
on | February 15, 2012, 21:16 GMT

@George Dobell...you missed "Blunder of the day": Rehman's 1 off 12 deliveries when all he needed to do was out bat on ball and take a single!
@Vaseem Siddiqi...totally agree with your team selection. But they can even try Asad Shafiq as a keeper. I've heard he used to keep wickets for his domestic side.

POSTED BY
Zahidsaltin
on | February 15, 2012, 21:15 GMT

Pakistan has only one plus point on their side and that is spin bowling. Negatives are so many 1) The worst fielding side. They alays have to score 30 more runs than the opposition to win a match 2) Mediocre batting. Hafeez, Farhat, Younis, Azhar you name a batsman, all of them have around 30 average and that too accumulated against weaker sides 3) No wicketkeeper batsman 4) Very long tail who cant bat at all. Rehman's coming at 8 shows it all. Its a shame to call him a batsman. 4) Pakistani fast bowling has never been weaker. Gul has no control over his line and length and barely bowls a wicket taking delivery. Just compare him to any of the english seamers. PAKISTAN NEEDS TO PLAY NAVED UL HASSAN AND RAZAQ

POSTED BY
on | February 15, 2012, 21:13 GMT

Pakistan should have played an extra seam bowler, toss was also important, lot of movement under lights and there has always been a problem for pakistan chasing totals. Now i would see a come back from pakistan for sure. 2-2 is on the cards.

POSTED BY
imranmujtaba
on | February 15, 2012, 21:12 GMT

Stop blaming Akmal .... Poor Misbah captaincy creating more pressure on Akmal ...then his work load has been increased by giving him wicket keeping..... firstly all test players playing no. 3, 4 and 5. Number 5 - Misbah is the worse one. Misbah creates so much pressure on the player next to him and after him that they throw away their wickets ------ Misbah doesn't know how to take single doubles which creates pressure and frustrate batsmen on other end. Selfish Misbah should not be ODI & T20 and PLEASE GIVE CHANCE TO UMAR AKMAL at number 3 and Afridi higher number!!!!!!

POSTED BY
Meracric
on | February 15, 2012, 21:12 GMT

Great selection by VASEEM SIDDIQI. I hope the Pak Selection Team get the message. Rehman is a good bowler but you need an all rounder in his place. Hamad is a good choice. Gul should be rested for the next game and Junaid should be selected. Look at India, they are rotating players in every game. Pak should take the 3rd ODI seriously by making some needed changes otherwise it will be too late.

POSTED BY
on | February 15, 2012, 21:09 GMT

we have loss many games just for bad keepers yeah this is not umar akmal's fault but selectors must apologies this approach and now its enough should select decent keeper for long time... afridi and ajmal might be contain better ranking if the chance were not losses by wicker keepers last 1 or 2 yearz so...

TEAM PAKISTAN have got the selection and balance of the team totally wrong. If they really want a wicket keeper / batsman they might as well play Kamran Akmal. It is no fault of Umar Akmal that he has been told to keep wicket. Furthermore, TEAM PAKISTAN batting only goes to number 7 with Rehman and Cheema not really capable of scoring any runs. They need to play bowlers who can also bat a bit and I would definitely have Hammad Azam and Wahab Riaz in place of Rehman and Cheema. I felt dropping Wahab was a very hasty decision just after one ODI. He is a quality bowler and can also bat. My ODI XI would be: 1. Hafeez, 2. Azhar, 3. Yunus, 4. Umar, 5. Misbah, 6. Afridi, 7. Adnan (W/K), 8. Hammad, 9. Wahab, 10. Gul, 11. Ajmal. This gives you three pace bowlers and three spinners. It also provides depth in batting.

POSTED BY
on | February 15, 2012, 20:49 GMT

pakistan have many good wicket keepers but akmal brother just fire the opportunity for others

POSTED BY
wc1992
on | February 15, 2012, 20:48 GMT

its all good no problem .... let see if Pak win toss next match

POSTED BY
mansoorJ
on | February 15, 2012, 20:47 GMT

it was really balanced cricket till 40 overs, actually pakistan lost in the last 10 overs and excatly at that point fear in pakistani team bounced. After Afridi's wicket none of tailender cud meet the ball on their bat even Misbah failed. Itz not pakistani batting but i guess it was Englsih class bowling and they did bowl the tail enders perfectly and didnt let them put runs on the board. All in all England won the match on their own effort many clapps for them. Being pakistani i feel sorrow but i want to appritiate the winners. Itz fact that pakistani team loose the match when they are put in fear and in this Odi it was the main reason. Misbah is nt a brave captain for sure. In ODIs or 20/20 u cnt wait till the last overs to rush the runs rather u have to genrate the runs ball by ball, Stats: pak dott ball 148 : 133 England similarly balanced but England had runs on board. neways congrts to Englaish team for their 2nd win .LUV U guys

POSTED BY
KarachiKid
on | February 15, 2012, 20:20 GMT

Imran Farhat's innings was definitely not decent, it was pedestrian and he could have been out much earlier. Secondly Abdur Rehman should be sent batting at number 20. not number 7. He could not touch 12 of the 14 balls he faced. What a pathetic tail ender and our PCB guys say he can bat ?

POSTED BY
on | February 15, 2012, 20:20 GMT

Pakistan lost this match...Thanks to Pakistan team management including coach Mohsin Khan for sending Abdul Rehman before Ajmal or Gul and costing Pakistan a match that they should have won in the end.

POSTED BY
Rakim
on | February 15, 2012, 20:16 GMT

Pakistan paying price for not selecting a regular wicketkeeper. 1st ODI and 2nd one both included missed chances by Akmal.

No featured comments at the moment.

POSTED BY
Rakim
on | February 15, 2012, 20:16 GMT

Pakistan paying price for not selecting a regular wicketkeeper. 1st ODI and 2nd one both included missed chances by Akmal.

POSTED BY
on | February 15, 2012, 20:20 GMT

Pakistan lost this match...Thanks to Pakistan team management including coach Mohsin Khan for sending Abdul Rehman before Ajmal or Gul and costing Pakistan a match that they should have won in the end.

POSTED BY
KarachiKid
on | February 15, 2012, 20:20 GMT

Imran Farhat's innings was definitely not decent, it was pedestrian and he could have been out much earlier. Secondly Abdur Rehman should be sent batting at number 20. not number 7. He could not touch 12 of the 14 balls he faced. What a pathetic tail ender and our PCB guys say he can bat ?

POSTED BY
mansoorJ
on | February 15, 2012, 20:47 GMT

it was really balanced cricket till 40 overs, actually pakistan lost in the last 10 overs and excatly at that point fear in pakistani team bounced. After Afridi's wicket none of tailender cud meet the ball on their bat even Misbah failed. Itz not pakistani batting but i guess it was Englsih class bowling and they did bowl the tail enders perfectly and didnt let them put runs on the board. All in all England won the match on their own effort many clapps for them. Being pakistani i feel sorrow but i want to appritiate the winners. Itz fact that pakistani team loose the match when they are put in fear and in this Odi it was the main reason. Misbah is nt a brave captain for sure. In ODIs or 20/20 u cnt wait till the last overs to rush the runs rather u have to genrate the runs ball by ball, Stats: pak dott ball 148 : 133 England similarly balanced but England had runs on board. neways congrts to Englaish team for their 2nd win .LUV U guys

POSTED BY
wc1992
on | February 15, 2012, 20:48 GMT

its all good no problem .... let see if Pak win toss next match

POSTED BY
on | February 15, 2012, 20:49 GMT

pakistan have many good wicket keepers but akmal brother just fire the opportunity for others

POSTED BY
on | February 15, 2012, 20:50 GMT

TEAM PAKISTAN have got the selection and balance of the team totally wrong. If they really want a wicket keeper / batsman they might as well play Kamran Akmal. It is no fault of Umar Akmal that he has been told to keep wicket. Furthermore, TEAM PAKISTAN batting only goes to number 7 with Rehman and Cheema not really capable of scoring any runs. They need to play bowlers who can also bat a bit and I would definitely have Hammad Azam and Wahab Riaz in place of Rehman and Cheema. I felt dropping Wahab was a very hasty decision just after one ODI. He is a quality bowler and can also bat. My ODI XI would be: 1. Hafeez, 2. Azhar, 3. Yunus, 4. Umar, 5. Misbah, 6. Afridi, 7. Adnan (W/K), 8. Hammad, 9. Wahab, 10. Gul, 11. Ajmal. This gives you three pace bowlers and three spinners. It also provides depth in batting.

we have loss many games just for bad keepers yeah this is not umar akmal's fault but selectors must apologies this approach and now its enough should select decent keeper for long time... afridi and ajmal might be contain better ranking if the chance were not losses by wicker keepers last 1 or 2 yearz so...

POSTED BY
Meracric
on | February 15, 2012, 21:12 GMT

Great selection by VASEEM SIDDIQI. I hope the Pak Selection Team get the message. Rehman is a good bowler but you need an all rounder in his place. Hamad is a good choice. Gul should be rested for the next game and Junaid should be selected. Look at India, they are rotating players in every game. Pak should take the 3rd ODI seriously by making some needed changes otherwise it will be too late.